Harvard calls for Inquiry on possible Burma ICC referal

Burma is once more in the headlines, with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi again on trial, and the United Nations considering yet another condemnation of the military junta that rules Burma.

A Harvard Law School human rights group says it’s time to do more than just issue another statement about Burma. Rather, the report argues, the United Nations Security Council should hold a formal commission of inquiry into human rights abuses that could lead to an international tribunal like those for the former Yugoslavia and Darfur.

The Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic issued a detailed report today finding that “human rights abuses in Burma are widespread, systematic and part of state policy.” It said the evidence suggests the Burmese regime “may be committing crimes against humanity and war crimes prosecutable under international law.”

The clinic’s 114-page report examines sources including 15 years worth of UN documents reporting on abuses including the forced displacement of 3,000 villages in eastern Burma and “widespread and systematic sexual violence, torture and summary execution of innocent civilians.”